April 24, 2020
'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Actor J. August Richards Comes Out
READ TIME: 6 MIN.
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." alum J. August Richards plays a gay man on TV's "Council of Dads."
Now he's come out as a gay man in real life, as well.
Richards discussed his personal truth while talking about his groundbreaking character, who is a married gay black man, with his co-star Sarah Wayne Callies on Instagram Live.
The show airs on NBC and concerns a man living with cancer who fears he might not survive the disease. He has asked close friends to step in and help raise his children if he dies. Richards' character, Dr. Oliver Post, is part of the so-called "Council of Dads."
Collins took note of how Dr. Post, is something brand-new for network television: An African American gay man who is also married and has a daughter. Collins then asked whether Richards felt any additional "responsibility" or "pressure" when it comes to playing that role.
"Absolutely," Richards responded.
If I think about why I even got involved with this industry, it was really to combat oppression... I knew how I was affected by the people of color I saw on television, or that I didn't see on television... yeah. And so, this being a married gay man with a family, you know, I realized that... you have an opportunity to put an image into millions of homes. And, yeah, I wanted that image to be honest, and I wanted it to be correct.
Richards then addressed why playing gay meant taking the responsibility of owning his truth in a public manner.
"Honestly, it required me to show up fully, in a way that I don't always when I'm working. You know what I mean? I knew that I could not portray this gay man honestly without letting you all know that I was a gay man, myself.
Richards followed that Instagram Live conversation with an Instagram post in which he shared a clip from an appearance on Sirius XM, where host BevySmith asked if Richards might be concerned about being "pigeonholed" now that he has come out publicly.
"It's a great question," Richards said, "and obviously one that I heavily considered, and obviously one that kept me private for decades."
"I had to update my software," Richard went on to say. "And what I mean by that is, the industry I started in is not the industry of today. A lot of the personal work I had to do to get to this point was kind of shaking the belief that I could not do what I believe is my purpose - which is, you know, storytelling - and be openly gay."
The next episode of "Council of Dads," which is now in its first season, airs on NBC on April 30 at 9:00 p.m.
